Attatchments
by Il Volpe di Verde
Summary: Just another case at the Bureau. Chaotic, messy, and slightly terrifying.


Guess you cant guess who these are based on, hurrrr. Came to me a while ago and really wanted to do it as a harmless self insert

* * *

The day at the Bureau started out normally enough; Rouji woke up early and made himself something to eat, knowing Muhyo wouldn't be up for a few more hours yet, and buzzed around the kitchenette, humming a small tune. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he suddenly heard a knock at the door, and quickly hurried over.

He opened it to reveal a woman grasping a piece of paper tightly in one hand, rubbing at her arm with the other. She startled when she saw him, but masked it with an anxious smile.

"A-ah, hi, I know this is early but I just got told that I had the day off so I thought 'why not head down now' because I've been seeing your fliers around town-" She paused here to hold up the piece of paper in her hand, which did indeed turn out to be one of the fliers Rouji had put up in an attempt to bring more business- "and thought you might be able to help me. Er, if you're willing to take my case, that is. I-I'm sorry, is it possible I could come in? I'm as sensitive as a lizard to the temperatures." Rouji snapped out of his reverie, apologising and stumbling over himself as he ushered her in.

"Muhyo!" He called to his boss, "We've got a customer!"

* * *

"So, Miss-"

"Ah, sorry, never told you my name did I, sh-uh, sorry. My name's Christine Dosio. Just call me Chris, if you would." The woman, now named Chris, shifted uncomfortably in her seat, staring uncertainly at her teacup. Rouji was seated across from her, a reassuring smile on his face and annoyed tick in his eye. Muhyo was beside him, sleepily muttering under his breath about idiots who couldn't bother to come at a decent time. Rouji wrestled with the urge to elbow him, knowing full-well the consequences. Just thinking about it sent shudders down his spine and made his side ache.

Chris was a tall woman, with a pixie cut and dark colours. She leaned more towards the plump side of the scale, and was decked out in formal wear, tie, slacks, button-up, the works. So far, after entering, she had gazed around the place, given Muhyo a confused stare before shrugging, and then sat down on the edge of the sofa as if she were afraid to.

"Oh, are you European? I noticed the accent, but I thought you might just be from a different area." Rouji asked, leaning forward. Chris flushed and covered her mouth.

"Sh-G- it's not that noticeable, is it? I'm not that great with Japanese no matter how much I practice." She said miserably, ruffling a hand through her hair.

"No no, it's not that bad!" Rouji exclaimed, "I just noticed it because many of our colleagues are foreign. You tend to pick up on it when you're around it so much. You're not as bad as some that I've heard."

"O-oh... Well, I'm not European, I'm afraid. American. The family's just from it. Does, uh, supernatural work really reach that far? We didn't have more than some jokey shows and malpractice-ridden priests in America."

"Yes, it reaches all across Eurasia! There's people in Japan, England, Italy-"

"Is it possible we could actually move onto business?" Muhyo broke in loudly, stretching with a bored look on his face. "We don't have all day." Rouji was about to berate the shorter boy because, no, it's not like anyone actually came in here, much less on Mondays, and two, that's _rude_, but he knew he had a point. Plus, Chris looked torn between agreeing and punching the boy as well, so he supposed they might as well get on with it.

"S-so, what had been happening that led you to feel the need to come to us?" Rouji asked, setting down his cup. Chris sighed and took a quick swig of her tea, making a face at the taste. Tea never was her thing.

"Euh, well, first I've got to say, this has been going on for _years _and I didn't do anything because of the, y'know, astonished 'are-you-insane/on-drugs' look you get in America- but that's beside the point, because I know for a fact I can't be imagining all of this. It just started with small stuff, things or books moving to places I know they weren't earlier- which I actually did manage to prove with some handy pictures, made me call the d-h_rrn_, call the cops before I gave up- the cat and cats later getting spooked out of their minds for no reason, that sort of thing. But then I'd start hearing thumping, and get the feeling someone was standing near me or even breathing down my neck, and at one point last year I almost went sailing down my f- down my stairwell because something actually _pushed me. _Cats wouldn't leave me for days afterward when I was home, and it's a miracle I didn't die. But..." She paused here again and glanced contemplatively at her tea before taking another sip.

"At that point, I had started packing up to move here, because I thought it'd help. And when I did, it sort of.. stopped. Nothing moving, no noises in the middle of the night, no almost breaking my neck moving about the house."

"If that's so, why the hell are you here?" Muhyo drawled. But his eyes were bright, and he was looking at her with an expression that Rouji knew well from the other times they had taken up "interesting" cases. Chris frowned, and opened her mouth a few times before closing it again with a sigh.

"It... it got worse, I guess? I'm not a good judge of this sort of stuff since I can't even tell whether or not someone's happy or sad half the time, but it came back. And it was weirder. There were thumps 'n sh-stuff again, but there were also real creepy whispers, and I know from setting up a camera that the cats only come out when I'm home for more than ten minutes now. Things are actually falling and flying around when I can see them, and..." Chris paused again before pulling up her sleeve to reveal four angry, red lines going up her arm.

"That happened a day and a half ago. Made me think I was in a damn horror movie, to be honest." She confessed quietly, staring down at the marks. "I'd seen your fliers around town, but I didn't think of coming to you until this. Couldn't yesterday because I was leaving my oldest girl with a friend, and sorting things out at work so I could actually see you."

"That..." Rouji trailed, staring at the marks himself. "Muhyo, we have to help her!" He whispered to the other, glancing between him and the marks. Muhyo hummed and sighed, before grinning widely.

"Well, I suppose we can. Let's see this ghost of yours."

* * *

They headed over to Chris' house in the evening, the woman begging them a little time to straighten up the place so it didn't look like a train wreck. She came back over around 8 o'clock, giving them a nervous smile before leading them down the road at the reasonable pace.

"Where exactly do you live?" Rouji asked, giving the familiar surroundings absent glances, "I haven't seen you around town, and I'm out here frequently enough."

"Oh, I live on the outskirts. Only really come into the town for work and shopping." She answered, taking a left. "Makes for less commotion when one of the cats decides to 'sing' to me for five hours or when I end up yelling because of another injury." Rouji gave her an odd look, but took it at face-value.

"Where do you work?"

"Police station." That stopped the two practitioners in their tracks, Muhyo giving the woman an incredulous glare.

"You work at a _police station, _where you're going to come into contact with murderers and authorities constantlyand you didn't feel the need to tell us? Are you an _idiot?" _Chris gave him an offended glower in return.

"If you _needed_ to know, Mr. Toru, _you would know_." She hissed, clenching her hands into fists. "When I say this has gone on for years, I mean _fucking _years, longer than I've worked with the police, longer than I've even been in college, so I suggest you don't go and insult me for a damn _omission_." She averted her eyes, a scowl firmly on her face, before stalking further on. They were reaching the town limits.

"I wouldn't endanger someone like that." She muttered, quiet enough that neither boy heard. Rouji gave Muhyo a stern frown that the other boy rolled his eyes at with a huff.

"Muhyo! You didn't need to insult her! And like she said, this has been going longer than she's been working, so it's not likely it's from that!"

"No, but it's likely more spectres have attached themselves to her because of it." The executioner answered darkly, thumbing the spine of his book, "I doubt you've noticed, but she's practically drenched in reishi. Which means more of a problem for us and more work for me."

"I-" Rouji cut himself off, uncomfortable. Muhyo gave him a knowing glance.

"Hee hee, this is going to be annoying," He murmured. Both of them went silent as they followed the woman to the house in the distance.

* * *

"Hello, mie gatte belle~" Chris called as she opened the door to the house, "I know you're still hiding and that you miss your sissy, but I promise it'll be better soon~" It was a moderately sized house, with a garden and patio in the front and stairwell leading up the back. The inside was slightly cluttered, with stacks of books and papers hanging off most surfaces and a laptop seated precariously on a table in the corner. Chris casually slung her coat over the couch in front of it, standing uncertainly next to it.

"Uh... I'm afraid I have no idea what to do now. Should I leave you alone, show you around so you can get a feel of the place or something? I doubt that's actually a thing, though." She muttered, scratching at the back of her neck.

"Well, are there any areas where an abundance of activity occur? Where those injuries occurred?" Rouji asked, ignoring how Muhyo was already walking off to the next room. Chris glanced around, biting her lip and thinking.

"Uhhh... the bathrooms usually get nothing, and I'd say this is where the most activity is. The scratches happened in my room. Or in the doorway, I guess, but same thing."

"Why don't we check out your bedroom first then?" Rouji asked, before his mind caught up with him and he thought about what he said. Face flushed, he tried to stutter out a, "U-uh, not like that of course, I mean-" Chris cut him off with a booming laugh, covering her mouth with a hand.

"Oh God kid, don't worry, I know what you meant. Hell, if an innuendo lightens the mood, I'd welcome them anyways. Now, why don't we head down the hall?" With a wink and smirk, she trotted down the hall to the right, humming something off-tune. Rouji gaped after her a bit before following, making sure to keep some distance as she seemed to have a habit of stopping and ducking down randomly, peeking under furniture or poking her head into rooms. He understood what she was doing when she squealed and reached under an end table outside a door, gently dragging out a large, ginger cat. It meowed at her pitifully, hanging on for dear life and rubbing its face into her chest.

"Aw, how's my baby Thor, mommy's so sorry she had to leave you alone in this horrid house~" She cooed, scratching the cat under its chin. "But now there's some skilled boys to help and chase out whatever is here so you can go back to your horrible singing!" She gave Rouji a smile that he returned, and nodded to the door to the left of the end table. "That's my room. Honestly, I haven't been in there since the scratches, so you'll have to forgive me for the mess."

Rouji gulped, nervous, and slowly edged towards the door, putting a shaking hand on the knob and throwing it open with a flinch. He jumped back and waited a few seconds, but nothing happened, and he turned on the light, revealing the messy room. Chris peered in beside him, a frown on her face, and he could tell she was shaking a bit. He didn't blame her, what with getting attacked.

"So you said it happened in the doorway?" He asked, tiptoeing into the room carefully. It was cluttered, more so than the front room, with blankets and pillows and papers tossed everywhere, a desk in the corner covered in pencils and paints. There was a large bed to the left, and the walls were covered with posters and photos. One close to him had her, younger, another woman, and two older people, most likely her family from their expressions and similarities. He picked it up, curious, before he heard her suck in a breath and put down the cat.

"Yeah, right in the doorway as I was about to go to work. Um, do you think you could put that down? I don't mean to be stingy, but I only have a few pictures of them, and..." He hurriedly put it back in its spot, making sure he hadn't left any fingerprints on it.

"Sorry, I was curious. Has anything like that happened before? Not the getting hurt, but getting stopped or interacted with in any way as you were about to leave?" She bit her lip again, thinking, before slowly nodding her head.

"Actually, yeah, I think so. I had just started the job, and it was right-right after my first case. I was walking out the door to go to- somewhere, and I felt an arm link around mine, as if to join me. It didn't exactly stop me, I guess, but it made me freak out and search my house. No one there, of course. And a few months ago, I was gonna go out to the store to get some books on my birthday, and I felt something hold me back, as if it didn't want me to leave my bedroom. It was freaky- definitely didn't go out that day. Why?"

"Well-" Rouji started, before freezing, eyes widening in fright and alarm. "A-ah, Chris, move!" He shouted, pulling the woman. She stumbled and fell forwards just in time to miss the hand that had been lunging for her from behind. A snarl echoed through the air before a full figure appeared. It was vaguely female-shaped, rail thin with hair lining a warped face. Christine stared at it in horror from the spot she had fallen. The ghost snarled one more time before disappearing in a flicker, presumably to some other part in the house.

"Chris, did-did you recognise that person? Are they someone you knew?" Rouji frantically asked, pulling her up. She gripped his hand hard, tears forming in her eyes, not really seeing him.

"That was Anne." She quietly said, her voice breaking in the middle. "That. That was my sister."

* * *

"She was a good sister, y'know." Chris said, breaking the silence that hanged over them. They were currently searching for Muhyo, or alternatively her other cat, if only to make sure it was still alive. She was cradling a picture of her and her sister in her hands, running her thumb over it occasionally. "Thor" was dutifully following them, meowing at random intervals. "Good sister, mostly good person. She just made bad decisions. Got tangled with the wrong guy, went upstate, and got-got-_hrn. _You know. She-she wouldn't hurt me."

"You have to understand Chris, after a point, all ghosts turn sour." Rouji said gently, overturning a cushion on the floor. They had reached the kitchen, with no sign of Muhyo or cat #2. "She may have been a good person in life, but in death she'd have become warped, no matter her intentions. I'm sorry."

Chris made a distressed noise and staggered to the fridge, pulling something out and throwing it at him. He yelped and luckily caught it before it made contact with his head. It turned out to be a Hershey bar, with the woman across from him chewing on one of her own.

"Chocolate always helps calm the nerves." She said by way of explanation, gazing around the room. He blinked and instead stuffed it in his pocket, not feeling particularly hungry at the moment. In fact, he felt more queasy than anything. He finally understood what Muhyo had meant about the situation being "more of a problem". The house gave you a dank feeling, one that made you want to go take a shower to rinse it off and never come back. He felt as though he were being watched at every turn, and as if something was about to reach out and touch him every moment. He was sure that if there was a sudden movement, he'd shriek like a little kid.

Speaking of- "This house is completely infested." A voice said behind Rouji, causing him to shriek and spin on the spot, nearly falling down in the process. Muhyo was standing behind him with an entertained expression, but it held an undercurrent of uneasiness. "It's like a den of them. I'm surprised you've managed to stay unharmed with how many of them are here, although they are staying in the shadows." Chris gave him a look that said _why would you ever say that oh god I sleep here _before sighing and throwing away the wrapper to her candy. She squinted at the trash can before nudging it aside and picking up what turned out to be the other cat, half-asleep. When it realised it was her holding it, it meowed loudly and began purring before joining the other at its spot on the table.

"Is there any way to get rid of them? Am I-are we in danger?" She asked worriedly, running a hand over her pets' backs.

"If they stay here, definitely. There's a reason you were attacked; one of them was making its move, or you did something to set it off. There's no way it won't happen again." Chris made another distressed sound, but it was cut off by a hissing most certainly not from either of the felines. Their heads darted to the back door, where the rail-thin figure was standing again, enraged expression on its face.

"No one will touch her! Never!" It hissed, lunging at them with clawed, bony fingers spread, "I refuse to let it repeat!" Rouji dodged out of the way, and Muhyo shielded himself with his executioner's tome, grinning a nasty grin at the spectre.

"Oh? And how do you expect to protect her if you're causing the pain? I doubt she's exactly happy to see you." He said, darting his eyes over to Chris. She had a pained expression, and was standing in front of the table protectively, as if to shield her two shaking pets. Rouji scrambled up next to her, pen out and ready to throw out a binding seal if Muhyo needed it. The ghost hissed again and lunged at Muhyo one more, yelling pure gibberish. Rouji wrote out a seal as fast as he could, throwing it onto the ghost, who screamed and fell to the ground, silent. Muhyo immediately fired up his book, chanting.

"For harming the living and illegal extended stay on Earth, I sentence you to Beelzebub's Box." He intoned stonily, watching as a large chest seeped through the floor and swallowed the ghost, who couldn't even yell out in protest. Chris let out a sob, but made no move to stop it, too terrified to act.

When it was all over, they stood there in an awkward triangle, tears streaming down Chris' face and Rouji rubbing her back as Muhyo closed his book. But the cats, the cats were hissing and spitting, jumping off the table and racing around the room.

"Th-Thor, Loki, the fu-fuck are y-you doing!?" Chris yelled, whapping one of the cats as it whizzed past her. The feline stopped and jumped at her, winding its way around her legs and yowling frantically.

"They just know it's gotten worse." Muhyo said mildly, grin still on his face. "Assuming that the spectre was protecting you for some reason, the floodgates are now loose. Your protector is gone." Chris paled drastically, fearfully turning this way and that to see if she could catch any ghost that may be sneaking up on her.

"Muhyo, do you really need to go and say the worst things?" Rouji yelled, trying to get the older woman to calm down, "Chris-Christine, please calm down, it'll be alright, Muhyo and I can take care of it, just-" The house suddenly shuddered, and a cacophony of voices rose, some yelling, others gibbering, more laughing.

"Hee hee, here it comes." Muhyo murmured, flipping his book open again. Chris ducked under the table, grabbing the cats and holding them tightly to her chest. Her eyes were shut tight, and she was muttering something in English Rouji couldn't care to figure out at the moment. Ghosts were pouring out from the walls and doors, and he was shooting off seals this way and that, Muhyo calmly standing next to him, waiting. He had a feeling he knew why.

The flow of them continued for minutes, the turnout truly proving the house could be called a den of ghosts, and when it tapered off and stopped, Rouji was panting from the exertion and drain on his tempering.

"Muhyo, these seals won't hold on them forever." He whispered, not wanting to alarm the woman still under the table."

"I know." He simply replied. He cleared his throat.

"For illegal extended stay, malevolent intentions to the living, and badgering of the living, I sentence you to Sisyphus' Trials." He intoned, hands rising out cracks in the floor to grasp each ghost in the room. They howled and screeched, cursing the Executor, before being squeezed through the cracks and disappearing into nothing. The house finally fell silent, the only sounds being that of laboured breathing and Muhyo leaning on the table. Rouji caught him before he could fall, and glanced towards Chris, who was still huddled under the table. She slowly opened her eyes and shifted them towards him, quiet.

They covertly agreed to stay silent.

* * *

Chris insisted on them staying, if only so Rouji didn't have to walk through the streets in the dark with Muhyo. The three of them stayed in the front room, Muhyo lightly snoring while Chris pet Loki. Rouji was twiddling his thumbs, not knowing what to do. It was nearing dawn.

"Sooo-" Rouji started, halting when Chris sent him a flat look. He gulped and went back to twiddling his thumbs.

"...Thank you for helping. It was painful as all fuck, seeing that, but thank you." Chris whispered, not looking up from the cat. Rouji blinked, and smiled sadly.

"It was the least we could do, Chris."


End file.
